Spud.



C. B. KING & H. T. GRAGELY.

SPUD.

7 APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19, 1911.

1,122,401 Patented Dec. 29, 1914.

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' THE NORRIS PETERS CO.. FHOTO-L|THO-, WASHINGTON. D. t

0. B. KING.& H. T. GRAGELY.

SPUD. APPLICATION FILED SBPT. l9, 1911.

Patented Dec. 29, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

. Q 0 w 51 r y W 1- r f v m a m Ox CHARLES 1B. KING AND HARVEY T. GRACELY, OF MARION, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE MARION STEAM SHOVEL COMPANY, OF MARION, OHI A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

SPUD.

Application filed September 19,1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES E. KING and HARVEY T. GRACELY, citizens of the United States, residing at Marion, in the county of Marion and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spuds, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to spuds and more particularly to mechanism for hoisting the spud and for securing the same in adjusted positions.

The object of the invention is to provide a hoisting mechanism which will be compact in arrangement and strong and durable in construction.

It is also an object of the invention to pro vide a simple locking device by means of which the spud can be quickly and easily locked in position or released; and further, to so connect the spud with the A-frame that the strains on the former may be transmitted to the latter and not imposed on the body portion of the machine.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a dredging machine showing the spud mechanism in rear elevation; Fig. 2 is a transverse section showing the spud mechanism in elevation; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line xa2 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and Fig. 4 is a section on the line yg of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

In these drawings we have illustrated one embodiment of our invention and have shown the same as applied to a dredge of ordinary construction and comprising a hull or body portion 1 on which is mounted the usual A-frame 2. Arranged at the sides and in the rear of this hull are a series of spuds 3, the number and arrangement of which may be regulated according to the size of the dredge and the character of the work to be performed. During the dredging operation these spuds are lowered into engagement with the bottom of the channel and are fastened in this position. l/Vhen it is desired to change the position of the dredge the spuds are elevated above the bottom of the channel until the dredge has assumed its new position when they are again lowered. Each spud 3 is mounted in a suitable vertical guideway which is of such a haracter Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 29, 1914.

Serial No. 650,225.

as to allow the spud to move freely in a vertical direction but to hold the same securely against lateral displacement. In the present instance this guideway is shown at 4 and is formed of vertical timbers connected at their outer edges by transverse bars 5 which form the outer wall of the guideway and hold the spud against outward movement. The spud is shown as provided on its inner edge with a series of teeth 6 which constitute a rack and mesh with a pinion 7 which extends through a slot in the inner wall of the guideway. The pinion 7 is mounted on a shaft 8 journaled in bearings 9 carried by a fixed part of the dredging mechanism, and, in the present instance, mounted on the inner edges of the vertical frame members which form a part of the guideway 4. Rigidly secured to one end of this shaft is a gear 10 which meshes with a pinion 11 rigidly secured to the shaft 12, also mounted in bearings 18, secured to a fixed part of the main frame. This shaft, in turn, has secured thereto a gear 14 which meshes with a pinion 15 on a shaft 16 of an engine 17. This engine may be of any suitable character but is here shown as a reversible steam engine of ordinary construction. It will be apparent that when the engine is actuated to rotate the pinion 7 in one direction or the other the spud will be moved up or down according to the direction of movement of the pinion. Ordinarily the spud will move downward of its own weight and the engine will be utilized to control its downward movement.

hen the spud has been moved into its operative position or into its elevated position it is desirable that suitable means should be provided for easily locking the same in this position. To this end we have provided a locking device comprising a block 18 having teeth 19 to engage the teeth of the rack 6. This block is slidably mounted in a bracket 20 rigidly secured to the frame of the machine and constituting a connecting member, as will hereinafter appear. The guideway for the block in the bracket 20 is such as to hold it against either vertical or lateral movement and the sliding movement may be imparted thereto in any suitable manner to move the teeth 19 into and out of engagement with the teeth of the rack 6. In the present instance we accomplish this by means of a toggle 21, one end of which is pivotally connected to the block 18 and the other end of which is rigidly secured to the shaft 22 journaled in the inner portion of the bracket or connecting member 20. Itigidly secured to the shaft 22 is a lever 23, the manipulation of which will rotate the shaft 22 and break or extend the toggle 21, thereby moving the block toward or away from the rack. When the toggle is extended and the block is in operative engagement with the rack it will be locked in this position and will only be displaced by the manipulation of the lever. Preferably, a weight is mounted on the lever to prevent the toggle from being displaced by any jar or vibration which may be imparted to the frame. A line 25 is connected to the end of the lever 23 and extends to a suitable point of operation. Thus, it will be apparent that to release the spud and allow the same either to drop into its operative position or to be moved out of its operative position it is only necessary to manipulate the lever by means of a pull on the line, and, to lock the spud, the line is released and the veight is permitted to move the lever downward. The bracket in which the locking block 18 is mounted and which, therefore, receives a very large portion of the strain imposed upon the spud, also forms the connecting member between the adjacent member ofthe A-frame 2 and the main frame. To this end the bracket is provided with two upwardly extending arms 26 between which the foot casting 27 of the A-frame is pivotally mounted. Consequently, the strains are transmitted from the spud directly to the A frame member and as this member is rigidly connected at its upper end to the corresponding member at the opposite side of the machine which, likewise, is connected to its spud, it will be apparent that the machine will be rigidly braced and that a very small part of the strain will be imposed upon the hull of the dredge.

While we have here shown and described one embodiment of our invention we wish it to be understood that this is chosen for the purpose of illustration only and that we do not desire to belimited to the details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described our inven tion, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an excavating machine, the combination, with a deck having a guideway, and a spud adjustably mounted in said guideway, of a bracket rigidly secured to said deck, a locking device mounted on said bracket, means for moving said locking device into and out of locking engagement with said spud to form a rigid connection between said spud and said bracket when in looking engagement with said spud, and an upwardly extending frame member connected at its lower end with said bracket, whereby the thrust on said spud is transmitted through said locking device to said bracket and thence to said frame member.

2. In an excavating machine. the combination, with a deck having a guideway, and a spud adjustably mounted on said guideway, of a bracket rigidly secured to said deck and having a guideway, a locking member mounted in the guideway in said bracket, means for moving said locking member into and out of locking position to form a rigid connection between the same and said bracket when it is in looking position, and an upwardly extending frame member connected at its lower end with said bracket, whereby the thrust on said spud is trans mitted through said locking member and bracket to said frame member.

3. The combination, with a frame, and a spud slidably mounted relatively thereto, of a casting carried by the frame, an i i-frame having pivotal connection with the casting, and locking means for the spud carried by the casting, whereby the strain from the spud is transmitted directly through the casting and locking means to the A-frame.

In testimony whereof, we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES B. KING. HARVEY T. GRACELY.

lVitnesses H. H. CONNELLY, O. M. WRIGHT.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

